The researchers looked at data collected from 4,426 adults over the age of 50 living in Brazil.

Food frequency questionnaires were taken to determine coffee consumption. Participants were divided into three groups: consumed fewer than one cup per day, one to three cups, and more than three cups a day. Participants also underwent CT scans to assess calcium buildup in the arteries.

Participants who consumed at least three cups showed reduced calcification. After adjusting the findings, the researchers suggest that the benefits of coffee on arteries is only found in people who have never smoked. Never-smokers had a reduction in coronary calcification by 63 percent. For current or past smokers, coffee consumption seemed to have no effect on calcium in the arteries.

The researchers speculated, “It is possible that deleterious effects of smoking overwhelm the benefits of coffee intake on early cardiovascular disease injury, so this impact of coffee may occur only in people who have never smoked.”…